WE at J-Star Marine Services are supporting this event which our staff are taking part this year.

 On the 19th to 21th of March, I'm taking on The Great Tommy Sleep Out.

I'll be sleeping outside for one night to fundraise for RBVE (Royal British Veterans Enterprise)

and raise awareness for homeless ex-servicemen and women. 



I'd love your support in helping me make a difference. Royal British Veterans Enterprise

has been helping those in need for over 100 years, providing support to the armed forces community,

individuals with disabilities, and those who have become unemployed. 



Please consider donating, sharing this page, and standing with me in support of our veterans.

Let's stand up for those who stood up for us.

The next week I will be getting on with more of the same as last week.

Now that the gunwales and inwales and the other trims and the two seats have had their build up coats of varnish, I am turning my attention to repainting the hull wit a new coat of hi build epoxy primer before finishing the hull off with a fresh coat of cream two pack marine gloss.  

The Wayfarer dinghy rudder getting a refurb and a lot of coats of varnish to bring it back to life. Just got to glue up the tiller which had had glue give out after a lot of years. Using epoxy this time to ensure it lasts for many years to come.

The rudder cheeks getting their first coats of thinned varnish on all sides as I build up the layers back to the original spec and once this is done then rebuild the rudder once more.

I have to put my gazebo up over the Enterprise and make the area into a varnishing booth  to stop any dust getting on to surface.

A few small jobs on the inside. One of them being fibreglassing in the front and back buoyancy tanks seats and build up coats of varnish on the woodwork  before turning over the dinghy and start painting the hull with a two pack cream marine gloss paint.

The two hanging knees which are now coated with Hammarite siler paint and now ready to bolt back in the hull, so that they can tie in the deck beams to the hull frames. Once these are back in place the up strakes of the hull can be made up and fitted and the foredeck area will be at a stage to be re-planked when funds are available to do that job.

 

Another busy week in the J-Start Marine Services Workshop

 The steel hanging knees from Mai Star II are now ready to be installed back in Mai Star II once the Studding arrives and the spacers are made up and fixed in position.

The two rudder cheeks now repaired and top of the new rudder cheek is thinned down to fit the tiller head.They are now getting their many coats of varnish before the parts are rebuild and the rudder is ready to be put back into use when the rer4st of the boat is restored 

The rudder blade was sanded back to bare wood and now getting the first of many coats of varnish before it is refitted to the other part of the rudder. So got to glue the tiller back together .

The new 8ft tender/dinghy as now got its centre thwart fitted and its first coat of thinned varnish like the rest of the woodwork it as to have many more coats of varnish before it is finished off

The breasthook is now fitted and so all that as to do now is fibreglass in the seats at both ends of the boat.

The course of action now is to apply as lot more coats of varnish before turning the boat over to paint the hull.

The pram dinghy is now gettingfa good sanding down before it gets its first coat of hi build epoxy primer

The enterprise is being got ready to have its final coat of varnish before all the deck fittings are refitted and the boat is put up for sale and sold to a new owner.

The varied projects I have in the workshop at J-Star Marine Services at the present time

This 8 ft pram dinghy was on its way to landfill when I saved it from being broken up and destroyed with a few bits of wood and time I am breathing new life into this pram dinghy so it can be used once more and give its new owner years of faithful service 

I am starting to give its mahogany gunwales and inwales and seats a fresh coat of marine varnish while I source some more mahogany for its centre thwart . Also got to make a new set of oars and rowlock blocks.

The other dinghy in the workshop is a new 8ft GRP dinghy /tender which is having its woodwork varnished and having is bow and stern seats/ buoyancy tanks fibreglassed in position 

The woodwork is going to have ten coats of marine varnish before the hull is painted either cream or blue i have yet to decide on which colour. 

These two next photos are of the two back faces of the seats out of the Pearly Miss which I am restoring in the workshop and which will be coming out of the workshop in a couple of months time.

The first photo is of the drivers seat back, once it is finished it will be upholstered with foam and vinyl as it was originally made up.

This second photo is of the aft seat and will be done in the same manner as the forward seat.

The next two photos are of the inside gunwale trims on the Pearly Miss which set off the edges of the cockpit well and when the seats are refitted will make it look much like it did when she was first build back in the 1960's

 

Time to get a coat of varnish on the gunwales and inwales to seal the surface before carrying on with the other paint work on the inside and outside

It is always a sense of achievement when you get to the stage when you start to coat up the woodwork . 

We have to make up the two inside pieces for the transom and the pram bow section which have to be made out of plywood and glassed over. 

There are two more pieces to be made, one is the transom pad for the small outboard motor on the transom and the small pad for under the front gunwale piece where the bow eye ring goes through the pram bow.

 

The Pram dinghy getting its new mahogany gunwales and inwales, as normal at J-Star Marine Services the gunwales and inwales are fixed in position with copper nails and roves.

As best practice the gunwales and inwales are fixed in position with copper nails and roves and not just screw in position. 

Plenty of clamps in use to keep the gunwales and inwales in position while we clinch the nails over the roves.

The nailing completed and the inwale tight fitting up against the transom so to keep the tension through its length to stop the hull flexing 

The starboard finished, just the port side to finish off. the the end to have their trims made and fitted.

Just got to get the centre thwart made up.

 

Gunwales machined up and now steamed around the pram dinghy's gunwales.

Having routered the top and bottom edges of the gunwales it was time to get the steamer out and steam the new gunwales and inwales around the dinghy's gunwales

As always you need a lot of clamps on hand and speed to get the steamed wood round the gunwales before they go to cold to bend round the gunwales.

As always have the gunwales and inwales about face when steaming them round the gunwales so when it comes to fitting the gunwales and inwales the bend is already steamed into the pieces of wood making it easier to fit when they have cooled off overnight.

 

Work coming along on the Little Mai dinghy/Tender and the pram dinghy/Tender

Dry fitting the quarter knees in the back of the Little Mai dinghy after the transom trim has been fitted with copper nails and roves

Once both these knees are fixed in position the gunwales and inwales and other trim will be varnished.

The breasthook will be fitted and then a bow eyebolt will be fitted.

The Little Mai Dinghy centre thwart seat blocks being glued in position with thickened epoxy before being glassed in position.

The pram dinghy centre thwart pattern being made up and made to fit so it can be used to make the centre thwart to the finished size.

The gunwales and inwales machined up ready to steamed and nailed in position with copper nails and roves as are all our restoration dinghies.

 

Epoxying the inner transom pad and setting up the seat positions and the centre thwart seat blocks

Giving the back face of the inner transom pad a first coat of West System epoxy before setting it up for a coat on the forward face 

Getting the pram dinghy seat blocks and their positions in the boat set up ready to glue the mounting blocks in position with West System epoxy

Once all the blocks are in position then the hull will be stabile enough for the gunwales and inwales to be steamed round and then nailed in position with copper nails and roves  

Just got to do a few repairs on the edges of the seats before they go in, they will be varnished as will the gunwales and inwales. the whole boat will be repainted in either light blue or cream. It is not decide on which as present time.

 

Finish off dry fitting the inner transom pad and dry fitting the transom quarter knees and dry fitting a possible outboard on the transom

Finished dry fitting the inner transom pad so it can be take out and epoxy coated on the transom face before it is set of a bed of sealant on the transom.

The top edge getting planned down to the finished height to fit a standard length shaft outboard.

Fitting the quarter knees so that they fit the new transom pad.

Fitting both starboard and the port knees 

Now the knees can be sent off to be powder coated and fitted when the other work on the transom is finished off.

Fitting a possible engine for the boat, this is a standard shaft outboard and will move this along easily. However, we would like to have something about 30 hp to make it really come alive.